The J/111 World Championship Sails into Downtown Hampton

During the third week of October, Hampton Yacht Club will be hosting the 2021 J/111 World Championship. J/111s are a newer, 36-foot racing keelboat sailed with eight crewmembers. In addition, each boat is permitted to have one professional sailor. Those sailors earn their living by racing sailboats and are at the top of the sport.

Eight boats are registered. Four are from the Chesapeake Bay and the four others are from elsewhere, including two from New England and two from the Great Lakes. The boats that arrive by trailer will be rigged and launched by the travel lift and crane at Bluewater Marina before arriving at HYC. A big thank you goes to Earl and Chris Hall for supporting this event! HYC’s own Ian Hill and his crew will be representing the Southern Bay on his boat, Sitella.

Hampton Yacht Club is proud to roll out the red carpet for this event and all J/111s will be located on the same dock. There will be a large tent set up on the grass at the north end of the property for socializing and showing videos and photos from each day of the event. Also, two dinner nights will take place for crews in the formal dining room along with an awards night at the end.

The event schedule includes two days of measurement and equipment checks, a practice day follows measurement, and then four days of serious racing. Assuming the weather cooperates, eleven races are planned and will take place in the Bay off Buckroe Beach. If the winds are too strong, there is an option to move the racing inside of Hampton Roads.

The members of Hampton Yacht Club are immensely proud to host this World Championship. Renowned clubs have hosted it in previous years including Chicago YC, St Francis YC in San Francisco, Ida Lewis YC in Newport, and the Royal Ocean Racing Club in Cowes England. Let’s all welcome these sailors and this event to our wonderful port city of Hampton.